Sg faded cant stay in tune

[thrice07]

I have the original Gibson green tuners on and it won't stay in tune. I lock the strings also but still no luck. Are gfs tuners any good?

[Norcal_GIT_r]

Gibson tuners are actually very good tuners.

I'm guessing either the string is not wrapped around the post properly or your nut needs some work.

Both of my Gibsons stay in tune incredibly well.

[tlbonehead]

Very, very, very, very, very, very doubtful that its the tuners. Bryan hit it on the head.

[_pete_]

Do you hear a "ping' when you tune it up?

If so, the nut slots are too tight.

A common problem with Gibsons is also the angle of the strings as they pass through the nut. It causes the G (and D to a lesser extent) to bind.

The cure is to file the slot for a smooth transition.

 

I see so many complaints about the Kluson tuners but there is nothing wrong with them. 90% of the time it's the nut and the other 10% is usually the saddles.

Tuners have almost nothing to do with keeping the guitar in tune.

[6mmSid]

 

I have the original Gibson green tuners on and it won't stay in tune. I lock the strings also but still no luck. Are gfs tuners any good?

 

 

The world is full of people that don't know the correct way to string a guitar, including me until fairly recently. My tuning "problems" went away after I started string my guitar like D'Addario recommends in this video: http://www.daddario.com/Resources/JDCDAD/Videos/string_your_guitar_less_vid.wvx .

 

Now my SG and strat stay in tune for days and days....

[Patuney]

Nut, nut, nut, nut, in adfinitum!

[Kat73]

This was a timely post as I was considering buying new tuners to put on my Gibson LP VM. A couple people have commented that they were made with cheap tuners. Any truth to that?

I'm going to replace the strings today and see if that helps.

[almightycrunch]

The world is full of people that don't know the correct way to string a guitar, including me until fairly recently. My tuning "problems" went away after I started string my guitar like D'Addario recommends in this video: http://www.daddario.com/Resources/JDCDAD/Videos/string_your_guitar_less_vid.wvx . Now my SG and strat stay in tune for days and days....

 

 

now, how else would you string a guitar???? I cant really think of another way to do it myself?????? the only thing I do different than that vid is that when I push the string back after pulling it straight through and taut, I just hold my finger and the string tight to the post and start winding, I dont pull a loop over the peg first.

[catsandstrats]

I have SG faded with the green tuners...I tune it up about once a month.

+1 to everything above. If it aint the nut, it is the stringing. I would say 90% chance it is the stringing since the nut is checked on QC.

[_pete_]

A couple people have commented that they were made with cheap tuners. Any truth to that?

 

 

Did you read the other posts in this thread?

[tlbonehead]

I have SG faded with the green tuners...I tune it up about once a month. +1 to everything above. If it aint the nut, it is the stringing. I would say 90% chance it is the stringing since the nut is checked on QC.

 

Yes, except that Gibby tends to have pretty tight tolerances on the nut slots and many folks move up a little in string thickness from the factory gauges.

[6mmSid]

 

now, how else would you string a guitar???? I cant really think of another way to do it myself?????? the only thing I do different than that vid is that when I push the string back after pulling it straight through and taut, I just hold my finger and the string tight to the post and start winding, I dont pull a loop over the peg first.

 

 

Well, the devil is in the details. I was leaving way too much slack, and then I had about 10 loops around the post. I also recall wondering if it mattered which way you wound the tuner. BTW, do you think every noob has a winder? I didn't the first few times I changed strings.

[GuitarNoobie]

MY LP VM abnd Faded SG need a little nut work, especially the LP VM. The G and B strings are binding in the nut. Causing more frequent tuning on those two strings than i would prefer...

Would some graphite in the nut slots solve my problem or should i file the nut ????

[catsandstrats]

Yes, except that Gibby tends to have pretty tight tolerances on the nut slots and many folks move up a little in string thickness from the factory gauges.

 

 

 

+1....forgot about changing string guage...so 75% chance it is stringing, 25% chance it is the nut...

[tinwhisker]

Both of my Gibsons have those same tuners...i string em the way shown in that video and i dont have any tuning problems.

[ashasha]

This was a timely post as I was considering buying new tuners to put on my Gibson LP VM. A couple people have commented that they were made with cheap tuners. Any truth to that? I'm going to replace the strings today and see if that helps.

 

No, absolutely no truth to that whatsoever. I would say that a couple of people don't know {censored}. They've got Gibson Deluxe tuners and are solid as a rock. I've had my LPVM for over a year now and never had any tuning issues at all.

 

Read the other posts in here, 99.9% of tuning problems are nut related, improper wraps or insufficient stretching. A little graphite in the nut slots helps too, but if the nut is cut right and its strung up correctly you won't need it.

 

The only guitar I have ever seen in person that had {censored}ty tuners was my kid's Squier mini and that may actually still be the nut. He just doesn't play it anymore since he got his Ibanez so I haven't checked it out more.

[almightycrunch]

Well, the devil is in the details. I was leaving way too much slack, and then I had about 10 loops around the post. I also recall wondering if it mattered which way you wound the tuner. BTW, do you think every noob has a winder? I didn't the first few times I changed strings.

 

I spose, I guess I usually end up with four or five wraps on the peg itself, I also dont really make it a point to yank the string up and kink it really hard against the post either, like they show in that video.

[Alecto]

Do you hear a "ping' when you tune it up? If so, the nut slots are too tight. A common problem with Gibsons is also the angle of the strings as they pass through the nut. It causes the G (and D to a lesser extent) to bind. The cure is to file the slot for a smooth transition. I see so many complaints about the Kluson tuners but there is nothing wrong with them. 90% of the time it's the nut and the other 10% is usually the saddles. Tuners have almost nothing to do with keeping the guitar in tune.

 

 

+1. Always check the nut first with any guitar. Upgrading it to a bone nut (if it isn't already) is also recommended. I had to swap out the nut in my LP Studio before it would stay in tune.

 

That said, my guitar tech did warn me about Gibson Kluson-style tuners after I brought him a close friend's 2006 LP Studio that also wouldn't stay in tune. He said that not only was the nut at fault, but the back of G-string tuner was loose. He said his customers had reported several of the Kluson-style tuners literally falling apart, sometimes during the gig.

 

He said that Gibson's cleaned up their act recently, but that is definitely something to watch out for with 90's and early 2000's Gibbies. I'm talking about the Kluson style machine heads; the Grovers are fine.

[Mesa/Kramer]

Have a bone nut installed. Not only should it eliminate the tunnning issue, it will improve the tone somewhat also.

[Still.ill]

Do you hear a "ping' when you tune it up? If so, the nut slots are too tight. A common problem with Gibsons is also the angle of the strings as they pass through the nut. It causes the G (and D to a lesser extent) to bind. The cure is to file the slot for a smooth transition. I see so many complaints about the Kluson tuners but there is nothing wrong with them. 90% of the time it's the nut and the other 10% is usually the saddles. Tuners have almost nothing to do with keeping the guitar in tune.

 

 

can you eliminate the ping by also just switching to a thinner string gauge???

so the nut sluts aren't tight anymore

[ashasha]

can you eliminate the ping by also just switching to a thinner string gauge??? so the nut sluts aren't tight anymore

That can work. I have seen a lot of tuning problems with people putting .11's on a nut that was cut for .09's or even .10's. Larger diameter means less room for error so going down a gauge would of course give you some more play.

 

Ultimately a professionally cut bone nut is one of the single best investments that you can ever make for a guitar though. It not only helps with tuning issues and possibly tone/sustain, but it can bring the action down and even help with intonation. I've had nuts that slots were so shallow that the low E string when fretted would go sharp. The factory will keep those strings high to keep it from buzzing, but if you cut those slots to the optimal depth (so that it still doesn't buzz) the entire guitar can play better.

[almightycrunch]

actually, I just took a good look at my pegs, and yeah, looks like I only get between 2 and 3 full wraps on the peg. And for the record, I dont have any tuning issues either, my guitars are always in tune.

[axepilot]

One thing to also keep in mind with Gibsons is that they're very touchy about rapid climate changes - temp and especially humidity. The guitars breath through the finish and they need time to stabilize with rapid changes.

I own four Gibsons and have been through this enough to plan ahead. They won't hold tune worth a damn until they've had a chance to breath a bit.